My great uncle Bruister Lenoir (top center) - my grandmother’s baby brother. On December 18, 1942, at only 22 years old, his B26 Marauder disappeared into the haze on his way to Accra on the African Gold Coast. After an exhaustive search of the open ocean, his plane nor his body were ever recovered. He was the first Choctaw County, Alabama, soldier to die in World War II. He never had a chance for a wife, children, career, life. His parents and 11 siblings were obviously devastated by not only his death but the fact that his body was never to be seen again. I cannot imagine the God-awful speculation, grief. They grieved over his death - all 13 of them - until the day that each of them died. Today, I remember and celebrate him. Memorial Day - there is nothing happy about it.
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